


Blood Red Roses

by UniversalMom



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Awkward Conversations, Confessions, Enemies to Lovers, Hanahaki Disease, Love Confessions, M/M, Sad, Teen Angst, hanahaki, hanahaki with a twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29956998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversalMom/pseuds/UniversalMom
Summary: Sal finds himself coughing up the telltale flowers. The only problem is, he doesn't think that he loves anyone.
Relationships: Ashley Campbell & Sal Fisher, Sal Fisher & Larry Johnson - Relationship, Sal Fisher & Todd Morrison, Sal Fisher/Travis Phelps
Comments: 12
Kudos: 14





	1. Five Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> There are very mild spoilers for Sally Face episode 3 in this story.

I started coughing them up a week ago. The roses, I mean. The first time, I wrote it off as a strange one-time thing. But then it happened again. And again. _And again._ Now, blood is coming up with the petals. I might kick the bucket if I don't figure out how to stop it.

I know why it's happening. This is a disease caused by unrequited love. But I'm not _in_ love, no matter how I look at it. Sure, I love my friends. I love Lisa. Even my dad, sometimes. But Todd agreed that the flower shit is caused by romantic love, and I don't love any of them like _that_. 

So why am I choking on petals every day? None of us have been able to figure it out, and we have tried _everything_ . Ash even made me try sitting down and 'reflecting on my feelings'. She says that is a normal thing that normal people do often, but I think it's bullshit. I wouldn't have even _tried_ it if I weren't so desperate to fix this. 

Currently, Larry is digging through his stuff to find a yearbook for the next plan. Todd suggested that I go through and look at everyone I know, and describe out loud how I feel about them. He thinks that maybe if I have to talk about it out loud, I might realize that I 'love' whoever it is. 

It takes him a half-hour, but eventually, he pulls a yearbook out from God knows where and hands it to me. I start flipping through the pages, but I don't even _know_ half of the people pictured. I don't have a single opinion on anyone until I get to Ashley's picture. 

"Do I really have to say it out loud?" I ask, trying my best to sound bothered by the idea so they'll let me opt-out. Todd just responds with a nod. 

"C'mon Sal, just listen to him. We won't know if it works until you try!" Ash encourages me, but I can tell that she just wants to know what I have to say about her. Regardless of her reasoning, I decided to give up and go along with their plan. 

"Fine. Ash, I think you're cool," I slouch back into my chair, not intending to say anything more. 

"You have to talk about her like she isn't here, or it doesn't work," Todd says, annoyingly calm as usual. He's too used to my attitude to care about it anymore. 

I sigh, well aware that I am not going to get out of this until I cooperate. "Ash is one of my closest friends. She's mind-blowingly fucking talented, and I don't know what I would do without her in my life. I love her, but not like _that_." 

"Okay, who's next?" Todd grabs the yearbook, finding the next person in it that I know. We go through a few more people, including both Todd and Larry. They're all thoroughly convinced that I am not 'in love' with anybody, so far. The last person left is Travis, and despite all of my arguing, they make me talk about him too. 

"Travis is… He's a jerk. But I don't think he's really a bad person. I mean," I pause, noticing the shocked looks on all of their faces. I thought we were all on the same page with this, but I was wrong. "He doesn't _actually_ hate us. If it weren't for his asshat of a dad he'd probably be cool with us. Deep down, he's just insecure. You can tell he doesn't believe any of the shit he says." I keep talking for a while. At this point, I've forgotten the original plan and am trying to convince them that Travis isn't all that bad. 

Instead of a snide remark or a joking jab at my opinions, the end of my speech is met with silence. All three of them are just staring at me, at a loss for words. It's kind of awkward. "Guys…?" 

"Keep talking about Travis," Ash says, leaving no room for an argument of any sort. 

"Uh… okay?" I take a second to think, not sure what I could say that would satisfy all three of them. "I think it's kinda sad that he is forced to be such a bad person. If there was anything I could do to help, I totally would. But he said-" 

I cut myself off. I'm not supposed to tell anyone what happened in the bathroom. It isn't like any of them would do anything with the information, but I promised I wouldn't. 

"He said what, Sal?" Todd (very hesitantly) asks after a minute. 

I shake my head, "Can't say. Sorry." 

They all complain initially, but I don't budge. They'll just have to live without that piece of information for now. Keeping my promise is more important to me than giving them the whole story. Todd _already_ made me talk more than I wanted to. 

A second of awkward silence passes before Ashley decides to speak up, "So, it's Travis then."

"Sal, it's totally cool if you're into guys or whatever but- Travis? Dude, really?" Larry is quick to judge, which would be understandable if I _did_ like Travis. But I don't. I do not like Travis. 

"Are you all on drugs? Without me?" I ask, laughing it off. Because they are _obviously_ joking. Aren't they? 

"Sal… You just talked about him for five minutes. You had more to say about him than all of us combined." Todd goes to say something else but stops before he even starts his next sentence. He's speechless. They aren't joking. 

I give them all a minute to redeem themselves before I start to talk. For some reason, I can't help but get defensive. This feels way too personal and _way_ too weird to not be a joke. "I don't know what exactly you guys are thinking, but you're wrong. So if you're done with all of the fucking questions, I'm going to go." 

They don't get a chance to respond, because I am already halfway out the door by the time they've processed what I said. But I moved just a _little_ too fast, or maybe I got just a _little_ too worked up. I'm on the floor coughing before I can open it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know what you're thinking. a hanahaki fic? in this economy? i completely agree, but i wanted to write it so bad. so here it is. i hope you enjoy!


	2. Silence

It took them a while to convince me to do this. Well, it was more the looming thought of death that convinced me, but I was convinced nonetheless. So now, I'm waiting outside of Travis's class, hoping to catch him as he walks out. 

Regardless of how humiliating confessing my supposed 'feelings' to Travis will be, it's a lot better than dying, according to Todd. I'm not sure if I agree with him, but it's too late to back out now. I just have to buckle down and get this over with. It's either  _ that _ or I get my ass kicked by Larry and Ash. I prefer the first option.

I feel my stomach drop when the lunch bell rings. It's now or never. Lucky for me, Travis approaches on his own. I didn't even have to try and get his attention. 

"Why the fuck are you outside my class? I told you I didn't want to see your gay ass around here anymore." Ah, charming as usual. He's  _ delighted _ to see me.

"I need to talk to you real quick." He looks disgusted, but I can tell he's just pulling that face to mask his surprise. Since when do I  _ want _ to talk to him? He probably thinks I'm going to have Larry jump him. But for some reason, he snidely agrees and follows me into the (thankfully empty) courtyard. 

"I thought I asked you to leave me alone, Sally Face. That was a  _ one-time _ thing. We aren't all fucking buddy buddy now." He crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking more uncomfortable than angry. 

I was in the middle of thinking of a joke to lighten the mood when I started to cough.  _ Dammit. _ I wanted to keep this from him. It feels a little weird to tell the person causing your disease that you have said disease. But, of course, I can't catch a break. The coughing doesn't let up for a  _ long  _ time. It hasn't been this bad in a while. I end up having to sit down on the grass to catch my breath. 

When I am done, I look back to Travis. I was expecting him to leave sometime during the coughing fit, but he stayed. And, much to my surprise, he looks legitimately worried for me. There is real concern on his face. It's a pleasant change from his usual angry expression. 

"Are you… okay?" He extends a hand to help me up but quickly withdraws it. He probably just remembered that he's supposed to hate my guts. "Er- I mean- Don't fucking touch me. You're probably contagious, that's- Are those  _ flowers? _ " 

"Uh, yep." I pick the bloody petals up off of the ground and pull myself up, quickly disposing of them. Travis's expression is once again flooded with concern. 

"You just coughed up flowers." He seems to be trying to convince himself by saying it out loud, so I don't respond. "Do you need to see the nurse?" 

"Nope. Um… I'm in love with you." By the time I realize what I just said, it's already too late. I said it. It's out there. Travis is silent. 

Nice going, Sal. 

"You're fucking  _ what _ ?" For once, I can't tell what Travis is feeling. This is going worse than I ever could have imagined it going. I can't even bring myself to speak anymore. Instead, I brace myself for the slurry of insults that are no doubt coming my way. "Say it again." 

Well, that's a surprise. I don't really  _ want  _ to repeat myself but, anything beats getting the shit beat out of me. "I uh… I'm in love with you?" 

Neither of us says anything for a long time. Travis stares at me, and I stare at the ground. I honestly would prefer him hitting me to this. The silence doesn't feel awkward per se, it is just unbearably tense. I don't know what I am supposed to expect, and that scares me more than anything else. 

"Goddammit _ ,  _ Sal!" He's shouting. I don't think he realizes it, but he's shouting. "Why would you tell me that? You're just trying to fuck with me, right? You're just screwing with me because you found that stupid fucking letter, and you want to-" 

"I'm not. I wasn't joking." He gets quiet again, so I look up. There are tears in his eyes. 

"I can't do this. Sal, I  _ can't  _ do this." I want more than anything to be able to console him, but I know better than to think I could. I'm the one who caused the problem, there isn't anything I can do to help. "You can't- Please just say it was a joke." 

"But it wasn't-" 

"I know. I know it wasn't. Lie to me." He's the one staring at the ground now. I've never seen him like this before. It makes me sick that I'm the one making him feel so awful. But I can't lie to him. 

So we're back to silence again. It feels heavy, oppressive. It takes him three whole minutes to start speaking again. Three minutes of silence. 

"That's what the flowers are from, yeah?" He sounds perfectly fine now,  _ almost  _ casual. It's painfully fake. 

"Yeah." 

"And what happens if they don't go away?" 

"I die, probably." 

He goes to speak again and chokes on his words. When he regains his voice, it sounds small and frail. I hate it. "I can fix it, right? How do I fix it?" I stay silent. He already knows the answer. "Sal _ - _ " 

"I know." 

"No-" 

"I know." 

" _ Listen  _ to me, dipshit," he says this, and a wince follows directly afterward. "Sorry, I'm…" He stops, muttering something to himself with a sigh. "You're  _ so  _ fucking stupid. You're the biggest goddamn idiot I have ever met." 

I stare at him again, silently. He continues. 

"I love you too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! <3


	3. Kindess

“I don’t know, Sal. He hasn’t even looked at any of us in a week,” Ash says, sending a stressed glance in Todd’s direction. They’re probably sick and tired of me hounding them about him. 

After our little chat, Travis left school for a week. When he came back, he didn’t even spare a glance in my direction. Larry is trying to convince me that it’s a good thing he’s leaving us alone, and he isn’t _wrong._ To them, he’s just a bully. 

I know that he isn’t, though. He wants to get better, but I ruined that for him with my stupid confession. 

On the bright side, the roses went away. I haven’t coughed once since talking to him. That was the goal. I _should_ be happy about it. But I would have preferred to keep the flowers and die if I knew that confessing to Travis would destroy our (already frail) relationship. I’d rather stay friends with him and take my feelings to the grave than live knowing he probably hates me now. 

Larry thinks I am crazy for being so upset. Todd and Ash are barely any better. But still, they’re trying to help me brainstorm ways to get Travis to talk to me. They may not like him, but they’re good friends. They know how important this is to me. 

“Have you tried sending him a text message?” Todd asks, motioning to the flip phone sitting next to me. “It’s possible that he just does not want to speak with you in public.” 

Ash winces, reaching over and punching his shoulder. “Don’t say that, Todd! Jesus!” 

I ignore her and shake my head in response to Todd's question. “I don’t have his number. We weren’t really friends before this either.” 

Larry lets out an exasperated sigh, letting us all know for the millionth time that he wishes we would change the subject. We collectively decide to pay him no mind. 

Eventually, Ash says that I should just try approaching him again. Todd then comes up with the idea of slipping a note into his locker. I’m hesitant, which is the case with most of their ideas, but it isn’t like I have anything better to try. 

As expected, it doesn’t work the first time. So, I leave another note the next day. This continues on for a week before he finally shows up.

I’m waiting for him out behind the apartments, at the foot of the treehouse, reading some shitty magazine I found by the dumpsters when he comes. He looks beyond scared.

“Uh… hey?” I say, for the sake of breaking the silence. 

“Hey? You made me come all the way here so you could say hi?” He’s trying to sound angry, but his eyes look sad. His tough act is more pathetic than anything at this point. He just looks like he feels like shit. He doesn’t want to be here. 

“No- I wanted to talk, er- I wanted to ask you something.” I can feel my face heating up. It’s been approximately thirty seconds and I am already making a fool of myself. 

He grimaces, shoving his hands in his pockets, probably to keep himself from punching me. Or maybe-hopefully- just to keep out the cold. “Okay…? Are you going to ask or are you just going to sit there like a dumbass?” 

“Well, I wanted to keep sitting here,” I joke, hoping to lighten the mood. He doesn’t laugh. _Yikes._ “Okay, uh- I just- Well I wanted to-” 

“Spit it out, Sal.” 

“Do you hate me?” 

He looks shocked, and I can’t quite place why. He’s been avoiding me for weeks at this point. How could he not expect me to assume that he hates me? Is that not the logical assumption to make here? 

“I never- Are you that fucking dense?” He doesn’t look it, but he sounds legitimately angry now. He doesn’t even give me the chance to answer before he starts up again. “I literally- I told you I loved you too, Asshole! And now you have the balls to ask if I hate you? Did you not _hear_ me?” 

“Well, no-” 

“Then why? Why on God’s green fucking earth would you think I hate you?” With every second that passes he gets more and more worked up. Once again, he doesn’t allow me to answer him. “Do you know what I risked to tell you that? How hard it was for me? I bet you don’t, Sal. You have no goddamn idea.” 

“Travis, calm down. You’re-”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! You’re- You- What was the point of telling you if you weren’t even going to believe me?” His breaths are starting to come out ragged and uneven. He’s going to draw attention to us if he keeps yelling like this. 

Lowering my gaze to the ground, I try to diffuse the situation again, “I believe you, Trav. I promise, I-” 

“This is so- ugh, I-” I hear a choked noise and look up. There are tears. He’s _crying_ . “I went through so much shit and,” he laughs, halfheartedly, “ _now_ I’m being a fucking baby?” 

He looks at me expectantly, like there’s something I am supposed to do. I don’t know what it is, so I stay right where I am. 

“Come on, you want to laugh at me. Just go ahead, I don’t care anymore.” He reaches up to rub his eyes, but it’s useless. The tears aren’t stopping. 

“I’m not going to laugh at you,” is all I can manage to say. This seems to upset him further, somehow. 

“I don’t want your pity, Sally Face. I don’t want you to be nice to me.” 

When he’s done speaking, I silently approach him and pull him into a hug. I don’t bother thinking of the implications of it until it’s already too late. But, for some reason, he doesn’t pull away.

“Why are you…” He’s left speechless, for once in his life. It’s like nobody has ever done this for him. Nobody has ever given him the time of day or tried to comfort him when he cried. I want to be the person to change that. 

“I don’t pity you.” I keep my voice at a whisper. It isn’t like anyone is there to hear, but this feels too personal to say out loud. “You deserve kindness, Travis.” 

“But you… I treat you like shit. You shouldn’t- Why do you even care?” 

I answer his question with a simple shrug and pull out of the hug to look at him. His eyes are puffy and red, but the tears are gone. 

“You aren’t a bad person. You deserve kindness.” He tries to argue, but I cut him off before he has the chance. “I love you.” 

We sit in silence for a while. It’s just like the first time, but this time the silence doesn’t feel wrong. It feels comfortable, like this is how it was meant to be in the first place. And this time, he doesn’t start to yell. He just sighs, letting another halfhearted, nervous laugh escape his mouth. 

“I love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading this far! :)


End file.
